All posts tagged ‘Science Fiction’

And the winner in the category “Top 10 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Movie Quote,” as selected by the readers of GeekDad, is “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Our readers nominated 36 quotes from science fiction and fantasy films. They voted 3,269 times (and these votes represented 38 countries). Now, the results are in for the Top 10 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Movie Quotes of all time.

In the Number One spot, the winner… as selected by the readers of GeekDad… is…

Wow. I would not have expected this 1968 Stanley Kubrick film to still hold sway over the Geekverse. Bravo. The line is spoken by HAL 9000, the on-board computer on the Discovery One spacecraft. Dave Bowman, one of the astronauts, demands that HAL let his smaller reconnaissance craft back into the larger ship. “Open the pod bay doors, HAL,” he asks. The villainous HAL won’t let him back in. That memorable line, “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that,” encapsulated all that humankind feared about the computer age. Yes, robots did take over the world.

Here’s how the Top 10 went down, in rank, number of votes and percentage of total vote:

The winner, in the Number One spot, as selected by the readers of GeekDad, is Blade Runner

After 73 nominated films, and 11,061 votes from 58 countries, the results are in from our poll to decide the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies of all time.

The winner, in the Number One spot, as selected by the readers of GeekDad, is …

(drum roll…)

Blade Runner

This is the seminal 1982 dystopian crime/noir/sci-fi film directed by Brit Ridley Scott, who also directed our Number 3 film, Alien, as well as Gladiator and most recently Prometheus. Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young, and is based on the sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

Here’s how the Top 10 went down, in rank and number of votes:

Blade Runner (Director’s Cut): 404 + Blade Runner: 398 = 802

The Matrix: 665

Alien: 480

Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope : 455

2001: A Space Odyssey: 446

Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back: 434

Back to the Future: 353

The Fifth Element: 346

The Terminator: 332

Aliens: 325

[Note: We mistakenly listed Blade Runner and Blade Runner (Director’s Cut) as two separate films, when we should listed the film only once. We’ve combined the votes for both versions (404 votes plus 398 votes) which gives us 802, an easy win for first place. But since people could have theoretically voted for Blade Runner twice, this might explain why the film nabbed number one. Still, even if you cut the total in half, Blade Runner still makes the top 10. Also, The War of the Worlds and Minority Report were accidentally listed twice; in the results below, their separate totals have been combined. We apologize for the errors.]

Fellow GeekDad Erik Wecks has his recent science fiction novel, Aetna Rising up on Amazon Kindle for free today. If you’re in the market for something new and different to read, this should fit the bill, and any budget.

I’m about a quarter of the way through Aetna Rising and am really loving the story. As long as I’m plugging his books, his contained thriller, Brody: Hope Unconquered, also science fiction, was a very good read. Erik builds an incredible amount of suspense and history using just two characters and a five year journey. You can find both novels, and his non-fiction How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any on his Author page on Amazon. All are free to read on Kindle for Prime members, and Aetna Rising is free to buy on Kindle today, December, 29, 2012.

With a total of 5,579 votes cast (a maximum of 10 per reader) for the 103 novels nominated, the best Science-fiction novel of all time as selected by the readers of GeekDad is (drum roll…)

DUNE by Frank Herbert

Although the tale of giant sand worms and life giving spice took first place, it was an incredibly tight race. There was a tie for second place and it was almost a 3 way tie for first place with only a 3 vote margin separating Dune, Ender’s Game, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy! The winners are:

Dune by Frank Herbert

TIE: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

TIE: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

1984 by George Orwell

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Ringworld by Larry Niven

Interesting to note: both Cold Allies by Patricia Anthony and Light by M John Harrison didn’t get any votes.

Our final category in the week long vote to find the best in science-fiction and fantasy is for the top 10 opening lines in a genre novel. We got some good suggestions during the nominations, and we’re happy to present them all here.

The first line of any novel needs to immediately grab the reader’s attention. It sets the tone for the rest of the book, and often can foreshadow things to come in only a few brief phrases.

Generally, a good opening line will take you by surprise, triggering your curiosity as to what’s going on so that you will read the next line. Some authors will use the in medias res (in the middle of things) technique where the story is already going and you are forced to catch up. Others will set forth a statement that seems almost legitimate, but there’s something slightly off… something unexpected. Some will make inflammatory statements. Others will simply state an obvious truth for you to agree with, but state it in a way that you probably never thought of before.

However a novel starts, the opening line can be the most important thing the author writes. The saying goes that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Well, the reading of a thousand pages starts with one sentence. With that single sentence, many readers will immediately decide whether they are going to keep reading or not, often while skulking about in a book store. If the opening line keeps the reader reading, then they might buy the book. If they buy the book, they might read it and recommend.

So, choose up to 10 Fantasy and Sci-Fi literary opening lines, click at the bottom of this post to see the results in the voting this far. As always, we ask our dear readers to spread the word about our little poll through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or word of mouth.

Our project to declare the most awesome of the awesome — when it comes to science fiction and fantasy, anyway — has moved to Defcon 4. By now, you probably know that we’ve reached the nail- and tentacle-biting phase of the process. We have started voting on some of our nine categories (see below) and that voting is still going on.

Today we start voting onthe top 10 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Movie Quotes of All Time. (We are also voting for science fiction and fantasy TV show quotes and top opening lines in fantasy and science fiction books; see elsewhere on GeekDad for this voting.)

We’ll keep it short and sweet: We received a ton of nominations. Please browse through the list below and make up to 10 selections. Pick the best, the most memorable, the quotes that you love and use in everyday life. The phrases and sayings that have become enmeshed in your geeky existences.

Once you’ve checked up 10 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Movie Quotes, click at the bottom of this post to see the results in the voting this far. As always, we ask our dear readers to spread the word about our little poll through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or word of mouth.

Our project to declare what is the best of the best when it comes to science fiction and fantasy has moved to Defcon 2. We’ve started voting on some of our nine categories (see below) and that voting is still going on.

Today we start voting onscience fiction movies. We received over 75 nominations, which means you have lots to choose from. Browse through the list below. You may select up to ten movies.

Although this is partly a popularity contest, we ask you to keep in mind not just whether you liked the movie or not and how popular it is, but also its overall effect on the science fiction genre.

Once you’ve checked up to 10 science fiction movies, click at the bottom of this post to see the results in the voting this far. As always, we ask our dear readers to spread the word about our little poll through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or word of mouth.

Happy voting and geeking out, and remember, “Vote or vote not… there is no try.”

Yesterday we started voting on your top 10 fantasy TV shows. That voting is still going on. Today we start voting on science-fiction novels. We received over 100 nominations, so browse through the list before making any snap decisions. Although this is a popularity contest, we ask you to not only keep in mind whether you liked the book or not and how popular it is, but also its overall affect the book had on the genre.

Check up to 10 science-fiction novels (sorry, you will have to keep track yourself), and then you can see the results. As always, we ask our dear readers to spread the word about our little poll through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or word of mouth.

With the holidays coming up, I’ve got to tell you about Ramez Naam’s new science fiction novel, Nexus: Mankind Gets an Upgrade. If you’re looking for the TL;DR version, here it is: It’s good. Scary good. Take a chance and stop reading now and have a great time reading a bleeding edge technical thriller that is full of surprises.

Okay, since you’re still with me, I’m guessing you need convincing. Fair enough.

Nexus is the name of a nano-drug that allows brain-to-brain communication for brief periods of time. It’s illegal. It’s addictive. And it’s just been upgraded. A new version, Nexus 5, creates the connection permanently, and with the Nexus OS installed, all sorts of new and interesting programming can be introduced into a user’s system. Want to have more confidence? There’s a Nexus app for that! Need to maintain your vitals to fool a lie detector test? Easily done. Control another person under the effects of Nexus 5? Yeah, and that’s a real problem for the Emerging Risks Directorate, the ERD.

In 2040, the ERD is the arm of Homeland Security responsible for putting the brakes on runaway technologies. After a a failed terrorist attack ten years prior that involved an engineered virus and a delivery system involving clones, the Chandler Act was passed, restricting research into genetics, cloning, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and any approach to creating “superhuman” beings.

These restrictions are now enforced world-wide by most countries… but not all. While R&D in the USA is heavily monitored, the ERD resorts to using enhanced soldiers and spies to root out organizations and individuals, locally and internationally, who are constantly testing the boundaries of the Chandler Act and, in many instances, openly violating it in public. One of these individuals is Kaden (Kade) Lane, a graduate student doing some not-so-legal R&D development involving Nexus. Kade’s group of friends is pushing the limits and taking chances, and they’ve got the attention of the ERD. Agent Samara (Sam) Chavez is quite familiar with Nexus, but not Nexus 5. Sam gains Kade’s trust and infiltrates his group, and then the ERD bring them down. Hard.

Kade is recruited (blackmailed, actually) into assisting the ERD in determining the intentions of China. More specifically, Kade is given the job of infiltrating one of the most successful neuroscientists in the world, Su-Yong Shu. The ERD has some good ideas (and evidence) of violations committed by Su-Yong, and they also are completely lacking in information related to her real intentions. Kade is sent to a special conference in Thailand to try and obtain employment with Su-Yong who has become aware of Kade’s group’s work with Nexus 5. The ERD sends Sam along as chaperone, and she’s running a full version of Nexus 5 and capable of maintaining constant communication with Kade using the neural link the drug has created in her brain.

As with any good thriller, nothing is as it seems. Motives are cloudy, loyalties are questionable, and the truth is a moving target. But that’s not what I loved most about Nexus. What this story provided was a believable future. I’m not saying I’d be first in line to load an operating system into my head using nanotechnology, but there’s something appealing about removing the apps from my phone and installing them in my head, ready to run whenever need them. And while Nexus demonstrates all the cool ways the technology could be used, it also provides the flip side. Software crashes may require a reboot of your OS, but if someone gets past your firewall and other defenses, what’s to stop them from forcing your heart to race until it explodes? What happens when someone improves the technology to the point that they can physically control your body?

As I read the book, I continually flip-flopped on this technology. Here’s Kade transferring files to and from a server, all with mental commands. Here’s Sam being mentally bound in a chair, unable to move and call for help. I knew I was hooked when I couldn’t make up my own mind where I stood on the tech. Naam’s dropped Kade and Sam on the frontline of an upcoming war between those who see Nexus as the next step in human evolution… and those who see it as a tool for further oppression and control.

Nexus is good. Scary good.

Because you can see today’s technology breakthroughs and medical advancements pointing us in this direction. It’s got all the gritty tech from a cyberpunk novel, minus the punk.

You’ll recognize the world of 2040 because not much has changed. It could be today… only with a few upgrades that fall easily into the realm of possibility. And that’s why Nexus is such a great science fiction story. It’s only science fiction because we haven’t caught up to the world of Nexus yet. But it’s coming. And if you’d like a glimpse of some of the possibilities we’ll be facing when it comes to advancements in neuroscience and brain-controlled technology, Nexus is going to scare you.

What is best in life? Easy: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to memorize and quote from your favorite films.

Our kooky, hair-splitting, possible skull-cracking, debate-inducing, week-long project of asking people to nominate all things best in science fiction and fantasy continues. Yesterday we asked you to nominate your favorite fantasy films. Today we’re embarking on another category — this one extra fun.

What is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to memorize and quote from your favorite films.

We seek nominations for the top fantasy fantasy and sci-fi movie quotes.

Geek love quotes, especially from science fiction and fantasy movies. These lines of dialogue often become words to live by. I’ve repeated Yoda’s words “No. Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try” a zillion times when I need inspiration.

Other quotes are hilarious, simply memorable or perfectly encapsulate a character or an idea. And some words, are not so wise.

To remind you of the rules. Well, not rules. But the question in our collective minds, perhaps, is this: What the heck is the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Our quick definitions are:

Sci-fi: Future/space/technology as primary theme.

Fantasy: Supernatural/magic/mythical as primary theme.

To leap into the fray, here is my list of top 20 fantasy and sci-fi movie quotes.